After Speech, Netanyahu Appears to Gain at Home
The first Israeli poll conducted after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress shows he may have gained slightly in the tight race to lead the next government.
A Channel 2 survey released Wednesday asked Israelis, "Did the speech strengthen or weaken your appreciation of Netanyahu?" Forty-four percent answered "strengthened," 43 percent, "did not influence," and only 12 percent said "weakened."
The survey also showed 47 percent believe Netanyahu is best qualified to be prime minister, followed by Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog at 28 percent and 21 percent who don't know.
Still, the poll showed the race between Netanyahu's Likud Party and Herzog's Zionist Union bloc very close, with the Zionist Union receiving 24 seats in the next Knesset and Likud 23 seats.
Israel's president will determine which candidate is most likely to form a governing coalition of 61 seats in the 120-seat Knesset after Israelis vote on March 17.
Meanwhile, as Netanyahu was making his powerful case before Congress outlining Israel's opposition to a nuclear deal with Iran, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry headed out of the Swiss resort town of Montreaux where he had been meeting for three days in an attempt to secure such a deal with Iran's Mohammed Jawad Zarif.
Kerry flew to Saudi Arabia Wednesday to reassure officials in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States, several U.S. allies who are very nervous about the talks between the P5 + 1 nations (the U.S., France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China) and Iran.
Kerry said he had made progress with the Iranian minister and he took a swipe at Netanyahu, saying demanding capitulation from Iran is no way to achieve a nuclear deal.
Netanyahu argued in his address that the deal being pursued with Iran would "all but guarantee" its acquisition of nuclear weapons.
"For all the objections that any country has to Iranian activities in the region, and believe me, we have objections and others in the world have objections, the first step is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon," he responded.
Kerry was less clear on how the talks contributed to that goal, but it will certainly be a subject in future hearings on Capitol Hill.
Based on the cool, if not hostile reaction from the Obama administration in the wake of the prime minister's speech to Congress, it is probable that the agendas of Kerry and other top administration officials will be tuned, at least to some extent, toward encouraging Netanyahu's internal political opposition and throwing what roadblocks they can in his path before the Isaeli national elections in less than two weeks.
